I’m stubborn when it comes to adding a new piece of bowhunting gear to my arsenal. Example: I use a fanny pack from the late 1990s — yes, it’s in Trebark camo — because I like the number, size and arrangement of pockets.

Last deer season, however, I began using an archery accessory called a bow holster that I know will greatly improve my treestand success for years to come. Unfortunately, I didn’t begin using it early enough last fall for it to prevent me from eating tag soup in South Dakota.

While a pistol holster supports the firearm hands-free, a bow holster requires you to balance the bow. Back when I shot a recurve bow exclusively, I relied on a small pocket sewed into my left pant leg, just above the knee (I’m a right-handed shooter.) As I waited for a deer to approach my shooting lane, I could keep the tip of my recurve in that pocket, allowing my arms to rest. A bow holster does the same thing, only it’s even more important for a compound than a recurve because the former is so much heavier.

Earlier I mentioned South Dakota. I recall a mature buck slowly approaching my shooting lane during late-November 2018. As I held my compound at the ready while waiting for a shot, the bow’s weight combined with severe cold (negative 10 degrees air temp) began to affect my left arm and left hand. As the minutes ticked by, the bow began to feel heavier, and soon I couldn’t feel my left hand, even though it was protected in a heavily insulted glove.

When the shot opportunity finally came 7 or 8 minutes later, I couldn’t draw and aim. My left arm was asleep and too weak to hold my compound away from my chest, and my frozen left hand hurt so badly I wanted to scream. And truth be told, when the buck finally walked away and I hung up my bow and stuck my hands back in a thick muff, the thawing hurt so much that tears froze on my cheeks. Not good.

At Christmas 2018, I bought myself a bow holster. Specifically, I went with the Primos Bow Holster. I used it only a few times before the close of the South Dakota archery season, but it worked well. Now, I can simply balance my compound because the holster holds all the weight. Tip: Instead of attaching the holster to a belt, I snap it to my full-body safety harness.

The only thing I’d like to see modified on the Primos Bow Holster is the padded cup should be slightly larger to accommodate compound bows with large-size cams. For example, it works with my Mathews Triax, but my bow’s cam would slip in easier if the cup was 20 percent larger.

I’m excited for the 2019 archery deer season. I’ll use a bow holster every time I’m in a tree. It might be the best $10 I’ve ever spent.